This is not Beethoven’s opera, is it?

Our Opera of the Week, coming from Bonn, takes its title from Beethoven’s overture and its plot from recent history.

Leonore 40/45 is an opera written by Rolf Liebermann, former artistic director of the Paris Opera. The opera belongs is written in 12-tone Schoenberg style but lightened by lyric interludes and ‘semiseria’ sending up. The 1952 premiere in neutral Basel was a success but the subject matter proved too sensitive for audiences in Germany in the 1950s for whom reconciliation evoked collaboration.

This October 2021 staging is part of  Fokus ‘33, an ambitious programme by Theater Bonn to revive forgotten works from the first half of the 20th century. Liebermann was active in bringing opera nations together as the first President of FEDORA, the European Circle of Philanthropists of Opera and Ballet. He might have approved of OperaVision sharing this first staging of his opera for over 60 years with audiences online across the world. The opera is directed by Jürgen R. Weber and conducted by Daniel Johannes Mayr.

The Plot: Albert and Yvette fall in love in Paris but at a bad time. It’s 1941. He is an occupying German soldier and clarinettist. She is a young French-Czech pianist. When the post-war authorities declare ‘No marriage between enemies!’ who can help the young lovers? Enter Emile: part Emcee, part guardian angel. Yvette is sung by Barbara Senator and Albert by Santiago Sánchez.

Available from Friday 27 May at 1900 CET / 18.00 London/ 13.00 NY